Humidifier for heating plants.



H. KRAKER. HUMIDIFIER FOR HEATING PLANTS.

APPLICATION FIVLED OCT. 2T. |917.

l ,$271,587. Patented July 9, 1918.

lof the furnace casing broken away, of

HENRY KRKER, OF HOLLAND, MICHIGAN.

HUMIDIFIER FOR 4HEATING PLANTS.

Specification of 'Letters Yatent.

Patented July 9, 191e.

Application led october 27, 1917. Serial No. 193,788.

To all whom t may Concern.'

`Be it known that I, HENRY KRAKER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Holland, in the county of Ottawa and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Humidiiers for Heating Plants; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This. invention relates to a humidifier especially adapted for application to hot air heating plants such as furnaces or the like, and it is an object and'pur ose of the invention to provide a humidi er which may be inserted through the outer casing of a furnace in position to rest upon the radiator and dome of the furnace whereby the heat therefrom may be transmitted to water contained within thehumidier to vaporize the same. Another object and purpose of the invention consists in the provision in a humidiier of means for checking and' controlling the passage of water vapor therefrom, either to the inside or on the outside of the furnace casing, means being used to automatically open the humidifier to the inside of the casing as it is' manually closed at the outside, and vice versa. A still further object of the invention consists in making a humidier of the character outlined at practically the lowest cost of manufacture,- and one which may be installed at any side of the furnace in a very simple manner so that the cost of manufacture and installation of the same is reduced to the lowest terms, yet at the same time a construction especially durable and ecient is made. All of these results, as well as many others not particularly set forth, will appear as understanding of the inventionis had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing showing the construction and application of my invention, and in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with pars t 8 upper part of a furnace having the humidier installed therein.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the humidifier, the outer door being removed to better disclose the structure beneath it.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof, and

Fig. 4 is an end elevation.

In the drawing, similar reference characters refer to similar parts in the several sections.

In construction the humidifier comprises an elongated tank or receptacle having a bottom l, ends 2, and sides 3, the sides and ends preferably tapering upwardly away from each other for safety in case water in the tank freezes. A top 4 is provided which covers the major portion of the tank leaving, however, a front opening in the top which may be closed by a door 5 hinged at its rear edge as indicated at 6 to the top or to a laterally extended flange 7 made entirely around the receptacle and which, in practice, 1s'

formed to conform to the upper part or dome of a furnace casing. In the top 4 an opening 8 is made adapted to be closed by a shutter 9 pivotally mounted at one side, as indicated at 10, tothe top 4 of the receptacle. An arm 11 is cast integral with the y door 5 and projects downwardly therefrom and to the lower end of which the front end of a link 12 has pivotal connection. Said link passes to the rear under the top l and at its rear end is turned upwardly as indicated at 13, and passed through the shutter 9 a distance from the pivot 10, as shown. This construction it will be noted causes a movement of the shutter to open and close the opening .8 as the door is closed and opened, respectively.

It is designed that the tank or receptacle shall contain water which enters therein through a'pipe 14C leading to any suitable source of water supply such as a water main, storage tank, or the like. In the end of pipe 14C a'valve 15 is located which is controlled by the movement cfa lever 16 at the end of which a suitable oat 17 is secured, the valve automaticallyclosing and stopping the passage of water from the pipe 1d when the water within the tank elevates the doat to a certain level, and opening to admit the entrance of additional water when the float drops below said level. rlfhis construction of float valve is old and well known, and in itself comprises no part of the present invention. lf at any time the valve should getv out of order so as to allow the passage of more water than desired the 'excess may drain ed' through an overl ow pipe 18 set in one side 3 of the tank or receptacle. Il have also provided a drain controlled by a drain llt) cock 19 in the bottom l of the receptacle for flushing the receptacle if desired, both the overflow pipe and the drain cock being located in front of the flange rlhe construction above described is particularly adapted for application to furnaces, that part of the tank behind the flange 7 being inserted through a suitably formed opening cut in the dome 2O of a furnace casing. The flange 7 is brought into contact with the casing and is secured thereto in any suitable manner as by bolts or the like passin through the flange and the casing. rllhe ottom of thel tank or receptacle rests upon the radiator 21 and the dome .22 of the furnace and when so positioned the receptacle will remain in place almost, if not quite as Well, even though no securing means is used to fasten the flange 7 to said casing.

In practice the tank or receptacle always contains a certain amount of water and gives otl water vapor in proportion to the heat generated by the furnace. This is as it should be as with the generation of greater heat, a greater amount of air is heated and passes to the various rooms through suitable pipes communicating with the casing through the openings 23 therein. If at any time the humidity becomes too great it can be easily regulated by merely opening the door 5 to a greater or less degree as required, this automatically closing the opening 8 in direct proportion to the opening of the door 5, and the vapor may pass Wholly through the opening 8 or out into the furnace room through the opening ordinarily closed by the door 5, or by proper positioning of said door 5, the passage of vapor may be regulated so that any desired part of it may be passed through the opening 8 into the furnace casing or out into thefurnace vroom.

From the foregoing it'will be apparent that l have provided a humidifier construction which is durable and in no way likely to get out of order. rlhe tank or receptacle, preferably, is of cast iron and is not materially affected in any way b reason of the -fact that it rests upon the ra iator and dome of the furnace which may be heated to a' high degree of temperature.` Likewise the installactual practice the same has lation of the same is very simple, and may be effected in a few minutes and placed at any desired point in the side of the dome of the furnace casing. All these advantages combining economy in manufacture and installation as well as maximum durability, make the construction one of merit, While in y proven entirely effective for the purpose for which it was designed.

1. In a humidifier, the combination of a receptacle having a bottom, sides and ends, a top covering `the major portion of the receptacle but leaving the front portion thereof open at its upper side, said top having an opening therein back of the front opening, a door hingedly mounted and adapted to close the front uncovered part of the receptacle, a shutter pivotally mounted on the cover adjacent said rear opening therein, means connecting the door and shutter for automatically opening and closing the shutter as the door is closed andopened, and means to enter water into the receptacle and hold it at a predetermined level, substantially as described.

2. In a humidifier, the construction claimed in claim 1, in which the means for operating the shutter by the door comprises an arm depending from the door, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the arm and at its other end to the shutter, substantially as described. y

3. In combination, a furnace radiator and lire pot dome, a furnace casing surrounding and spaced from the same, a receptacle extending through a side of the casing and passing above said radiator and dome, said receptacle comprisin a tank having, sides, bottom, inner end and top partly Within the casing, said cover having an opening therein, a door hinged to the tank outside of the casing, means to wholly or partially close the opening in said cover, and means interposed between the door and said closing means for operating the same by movements of the door.

ln testimony whereof l ax my signature.

HENRY KRAKER. 

